Fine Tuning
Formerly known as Tweak Mode Fine tuning refers to special controls for: #Some building tools #Design placement #props placement Most of the controls described here appear as UI (User Interface) changes. For example, directional arrows that appear that allow fine adjustments of a prop's location. Once you learn the shortcuts and keyboard commands to open fine tuning controls, you will find it can speed up the building process and allows you to fine-tune the placement of shapes and more. You can locate the Fine Tuning controls for all tools on the far right side of the Build Tools tab in Build Mode. Overview Most building tools have some form of fine tuning but the most common use of the words "fine tuning " refers to use with the Selection Tool to copy and paste or the placement of design, because fine tuning for both are more advanced. Fine tuning can be broken down into the sub-types described in greater detail in sections below they are: *Simple Fine Tuning Controls: while working some with building tools the basic controls can be toggles. This works with tools that can be used with the basic circle shape and the selection tool when used alone. *Advanced Controls UI Window: at this time there two are variations of advanced controls. Both have a variety of control options, but one is only used to paste with 'air' (empty space) or to delete and area in the shape of the object you've created. Simple Controls At this time it works with: *Any tool that can be used as a sphere (after holding Shift + C to toggle from cube to sphere). :*Example uses: the Delete Tool to adjust the size of the area you cut into; the Paint Tool to lift it up and down to quickly paint simple patterns; with the Add Tool to lift a sphere out of the ground. *With the selection tool alone it works by: :*By holding down shift, 4 arrows appear that allow you to make small adjustment to it's location. This is useful when preparing to enclose a player made object before creating a design or preparing to copy/paste. Advanced Controls UI Windows After you activate a tool and begin working with it, pressing T''' open the Fine tuning Window. The Fine tuning Window is a small UI (User Interface) window; there are two variations of the advanced controls. *Most tools: tools that can be used with the basic cube or sphere shapes, like the Add Tool. *Selection Tool (using copy/paste)and design: has the similar controls to those for most tools, but also adds two check-box options. The two variations of advanced controls are described below in their own sections. Options for Most Tools The general options include: *Arrow Mode: a button that can be clicked on the advanced mode window that allows you to adjust on a plane. The arrows for advanced control can be used to drag up/down, left/right, forward/back in relation to where you are working with the tool. *Rotation Mode: not available at this time, but may be added Options for Selection Tool and Designs The options for the Fine tuning window when used with the selection tool and designs can be used by doing the following first: '''With the selection tool #Enclose and player-built object (eg. stairs you build) #Press CTRL + C to copy the object #Press CTRL + V to paste the copy #Press T to open the advanced Fine tuning controls With Designs #Click on the Designs tab while while in Build Mode #Choose the design you want to work with #When it is ready to be placed, press T click to open the advanced Fine tuning controls The advanced controls have the following options that are activated by clicking the buttons at the top for: *Arrow Mode: a button that can be clicked on the advanced mode window that allows you to adjust on a plane. The arrows for advanced control can be used to drag up/down, left/right, forward/back in relation to where you are working with the tool. *Rotation Mode: similar to the basic control in how it is used, this version does not remain on a 90 degree axis. It is (currently) only available when using copy/paste (with the selection tool) or while placing a design. *Mirror mode: This option allow the flipping of an object from side to side. For example, it's useful for building objects like arches. :Two check boxes offer more options and, because they offer unusual choices, they are described in their own sections below. When you have complete any adjustments using any of the modes or the check boxes, you complete placement like you do with any other tool: left click again. About Check Box Options With Designs Empty Space and Air :Empty Space was formerly called Air. That description is retained here because players still use the terminology, even though the official name was changed before the game launch in 2016. Don't be daunted by these options, experiment in-game and they will make sense when you work with them. Once you have a grasp, you can use these as shortcuts to techniques that were quite complicated before they were added. What follows is a simplified description of voxels. See the Suggested Reading section for links describing advanced techniques. To understand how the Paste with Empty Space Options work, it's important to understand that the entire world of Landmark is built out of voxels. The actual voxel is really a complex structure (data) under what we can see when we place a single cube with the add tool when building. The part we see is actually building material wrapped around the voxel in a cube-shape (eg. a voxel cube made built out of stone). This is why "voxel" is often casually used as the smallest unit of measurement in Landmark. All voxels can be warped (twisted and manipulated) when building, though it easy to see this happening with visible voxels. Each voxel reacts to the state of the "neighboring" voxels around it too, including those we can not see, often called Air Voxels. :An Air voxel still contains the complex voxel structure, it just lacks visible material. Like any other voxel it can be warped; the air voxel is how players make unusual shapes that are smaller than the smallest cube that can be placed with the add tool, shapes that look like tiny spikes, and more. Two examples of how players manipulate both visible voxels and air voxels are: *When using the smooth tool by itself in an area of a claim you are actually altering the complex structure of the voxels that the smooth tool comes into contact with, including both visible voxels and (invisible) air voxels. *If using the selection tool to enclose a player-build object like a large cube shape, but pulling the selection tool out and away from the cube itself, you also select the air voxels you can not see. Applying the smooth tool to the area is warping both the material you see (a cluster of visible voxels that make up the cube) and the air voxels you are warping to smooth the cube into a (more) rounded shape. Paste with Empty Space Options :Formerly: Paste Air with Voxels :Paste with Surrounding Empty Space: :Paste with Interior Empty Space: This section is being re-written, but the basic principals apply. When you use this option, you are choosing whether or not you want to include both the invisible air voxels and any visible voxels. For example, if you make an object like a staircase and have air voxels included from making the template, sometimes pasting it will remove visible voxels around it, due to the air voxels you can not see. If you exclude the air when you paste, you eliminate any visible voxels that you would "cut" while placing it. Sometimes this effect "cutting" effect works to your advantage when you want to add fine details. *Paste with air duplicates air shapes, so it can be used to cut voxel structures. *Paste without air doesn't duplicate air shapes, so it can be used to inlay shapes into other voxel structures - but it may warp the target structure around the edges of the paste boundary. *Unchecking the box and to paste without air will affect any copied and pasted object or template until Fine tuning is activated again and you check the box and paste with air again. It will also reset if you log out. Paste as Delete :Formerly: Remove Voxels :This function still exists but is now achieved by holding down the Y key while applying your selected shape. *Removing Voxels excludes all voxels from what you are placing. In other words, you are choosing the exclude any material that would normally be visible from a copied object or template you are placing. This frees you to build with voxels you can see and and apply them to existing surfaces. When the material that defines the complex structure of the actual voxel is excluded during building, you are removing the visible voxel material while retaining the object or shape you previously made. This allows a "cookie cutter" or etching effects to be applied while building. In other words, you can cut away anything you apply when you use Remove Voxels. *Paste without voxels provides a shortcut to simple etching, by allowing you to first build with voxels you can see (eg. cube shapes), but turn them invisible on placement. In other words, you could place cubes in a zig-zag pattern, copy them as a group, and use it in a manner that mimics a cookie cutter to remove the visible material on a surface. This option is useful if you want to cut a pattern into a floor, wall, and many advanced techniques. Suggested Reading Experiment in-game first, but if you want to understand more advanced techniques for manipulating voxels see: *Voxel - for the detailed, technical definition of what a voxel is *Basic Voxel Editing - an introduction to voxel manipulation *Micro-Voxel *Anti Voxel Media :Videos in this section are outdated, but being retained to demonstrate the value of fine tuning until new videos are available. *You can watch a video tutorial that shows the use of most of the fine tuning modes described in this article. Note that it was made before Remove Voxels was added to the advanced fine tuning mode options. Tenma's Paste without Air Inlay (12:35 mins - June 10, 2014) *Watch a "Tiny Tutorial" video showing how to use Tweak Mode to float a (basic) sphere with the add tool, using the (advanced) Tweak Mode control. (1:35 mins - Aug 17, 2014) Category:Building